Downtown group releases papers

Thursday

Aug 26, 2010 at 1:12 AM

KEVIN WELCH

Downtown Amarillo Inc. released 416 pages of documents Wednesday that were requested by local media.

They consisted of e-mails, meeting agendas and minutes, financial reports and presentations created by the executive director and board members of the nonprofit, which advises the city of Amarillo and is to act as a catalyst for developing downtown.

DAI sought an attorney general's ruling on whether the documents are subject to the Public Information Act after a February request for them by the Amarillo Independent, which has ceased publication but maintains a Web site. The Amarillo Globe-News also later requested access to the documents. The ruling said they are public because DAI receives the majority of its funding from the city, about $200,000 annually, without specific tasks to spend it on.

The contents of the e-mails are largely routine exchanges.

"Did you order lunch for today's board meeting?" said an e-mail from DAI board President Les Simpson to Executive Director Melissa Dailey.

Simpson also is publisher of the Amarillo Globe-News.

Another e-mail is from Amarillo Planning Director Kelley Shaw to Dailey, telling her she might be interested in upcoming City Commission discussions on topics like the possible renovation of the vacant Levine's and Blackburn's buildings on Polk Street.

The financial audits show the group spending less overall than it budgeted and maintaining a positive balance. The audits do state that DAI elected to "omit substantially all of the disclosures and the statement of cash flows required by generally accepted accounting principles" that would allow someone not very familiar with the numbers to draw conclusions.

Most of the agendas and minutes show DAI returning to the same topics - getting a state grant to help fund renovations along Polk Street and Sixth Avenue, creating urban design standards to recommend to the City Commission, starting a land-use study for the area around the Civic Center and a study on possible housing demand and solutions downtown and the possibility of a convention hotel.

While the nonprofit must now open its records to the public, its meetings can remain closed.

Minutes of meetings to organize DAI show some hesitation to open meetings because "the board will be meeting with individuals and corporations regarding large financial investments and it is in the best interest of revitalization to keep those dealings private."

Richard Ware - a member of the committee forming DAI, eventual board member, and president of Amarillo National Bank - suggested public meetings with closed executive sessions like many government entities use for sensitive discussions.

However, state law does not make an entity have open meetings even if its documents are largely public.

"It's not the same thing at all," said Joe Larson, a Houston attorney and board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. "To be under the Open Meetings Act, you have to be able to make rules. You have to be in the position of calling the shots."

DAI has no authority to create laws or regulations.

"A great example would be the local police department," Larson said. "It's publicly funded but doesn't make the rules, so it isn't required to have open meetings."

The records released Wednesday run through Feb. 23. The Globe-News and the Independent have requested access to the same sorts of documents generated since Feb. 24.

DAI's attorney, Slater Elza of the Underwood Firm, is seeking an attorney general's opinion on whether some of the information is privileged under exceptions granted in state law. Some of the exceptions he cites in his request include information that would give advantage to a competitor, locations or prices of property, economic development negotiation information and financial information obtained from another party.

Elza also included in his request letters to three unknown businesses notifying them they can protest the release of the documents they have given to DAI. If they don't object within 10 business days of receiving notice, the records become public.

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